It's a conspiracy

By
MARTIN AGATYN

DEVONPORT Football Club is outraged that the day and venue of its State League elimination semi-final has been changed - and club president Steve Daley believes he smells a conspiracy. The Wrest P

DEVONPORT Football Club is outraged that the day and venue of its State League elimination semi-final has been changed - and club president Steve Daley believes he smells a conspiracy. The Wrest Point State League first semi-final between Clarence and Devonport was to be played at North Hobart on Sunday, but yesterday was suddenly shifted to Bellerive on Saturday. Daley said his club was bitterly disappointed the game had been moved to Bellerive, which was also Clarence's home ground. "As well as losing the advantage of a neutral venue, we now have to play a day earlier, which has thrown our whole training schedule out the window," Daley said. "It's a huge inconvenience - we were going to have a light training run on North Hobart on Saturday, but now we have to play at Bellerive instead. "I'm sure North Hobart is not as bad as we are being led to believe and this decision is not in the best interests of our club, its players, or its supporters." Burnie Dockers president Peter Vincent was also not happy about the decision, which has robbed the club of having its under 19s, reserves and seniors all playing in a second semi-final at the same venue on the same day (Saturday). "It was going to be a huge day for our club, but now our reserves and under 19s will have to play at Aurora Stadium on Sunday," Vincent said. "We'd already made travel and accommodation arrangements, which we have now had to change - it's very disruptive." AFL Tasmania general manager Scott Wade said the TSL management committee met yesterday to discuss concerns over the condition of the North Hobart Oval, which prompted the move. With Saturday's second semi- final between Glenorchy and Burnie also scheduled for Bellerive on Saturday and the ground unavailable on Sunday, both semi-finals will now be played on the same day in a double-header. The majority of reserves and under 19 matches scheduled for Bellerive on Saturday and North Hobart on Sunday have now been transferred to Aurora Stadium in Launceston on Sunday. Wade said with SFL and Old Scholars finals series also scheduled for North Hobart in coming weeks, playing the TSL first semi-final there this Sunday would also not have been in the best interests of community football in subsequent weeks. "We've had significant rainfall in Hobart early this week and, given the forecast for Thursday and Friday, we were not confident the North Hobart ground was suitable," Wade said. "We want to play on the best available ground in the region, which just happens to be Bellerive." "What this has presented Tasmanian football followers with is the opportunity to see the best four sides in the state on the one program." According to AFL Tasmania, shifting the first semi-final to Aurora Stadium on Sunday was not an option, as Clarence, by finishing third on the ladder, had earned the right to have a final in its home region. The same rules do not apply to reserves and under 19 competitions, with seniors taking precedence.